Shimano AM41 Flat Biking Trainer Review...

So after much searching for lightweight, sticky, flat pedal, bike specific trainers, I ended up buying the Shimano AM41's. Half the price of some of the 5.10's, Teva's etc, and so much lighter! Onto the Review...

Looks :
I'd say they are a very marmite trainer, you either love or hate them, they certainly look different. I'm quite fond of them, very minimal styling, white piping, and black to hide the trail dirt. These are the size 47's and they do look huge!

Sizing:
I'm UK 11.5, and the main concern was sizing them, no where has them in stock to try on, so I ended up going to Decathlon and trying on the Shimano SPD's in 45, 46 and 47. They were all way too narrow. Chain reaction made it easy to order both 46 and 47 and send the wrong pair back with the free of charge collectplus+ sevice

Was pleasantly surprised at just how wide they are, on par with my old Nikes, nothing like the narrow SPD's.

Protection:
The storm flap keeps all the rubbish out, and laces away from moving parts. On this mornings ride when the torrential downpour started feet stayed bone dry, no need for seal skin socks anymore.

Build quality:
Fantastic durable finish, which without a doubt would offer far better crash and rock protection than what i'm used to.

Grip:
The important bit and what got me wanting to change from my running trainers which have served me for 3 years. I started getting foot cramps half way through a ride, the Nikes were flexing too much around the pedals and digging into my feet. Looking underneath them and where the pedal would sit in the centre they are pretty unsuitable anyway, the thinnest drawn in part where I need the most grip! Along with the recessed nature of the pattern theres not much biting area for the grub screws on my DMR V12's.

Comfort:
Super flat, super stiff, with no flex when riding, and performed that well in todays maiden voyage i'm starting to consider whether I even need to change my V12's (was waiting for superstar nano's to come back in stock)

Feet stuck that well I was pedalling in a way similar to SPD's not just downstroke, but cadence with up stroke too. Stuck like glue on the descents, and the raw take off speed after hard braking, or starting off was the most noticeable difference, probably down to the extra torque from both feet doing more work. (Sole is made by Vibrams VIBRAM )

Conclusion:
I've been riding with my old nike trainers for over 10 years, whenever a pair gets knackered I use them for biking and bin the old pair, rinse and repeat, never thought anything of it. Cramps got me searching for bike specific flats, but hated the weight (and price) of 5.10's. Seems a real gap in market at £50-£60, and the Shimano's ticked all the boxes. Seems i've been doing myself out of faster more secure riding for all this time using trainers i thought were adequate, but until riding these, the difference is night and day. Only downside is my legs had some different muscles aching after the ride which i've probably not used before